At 5.1%, July featured the highest conversion rate so far recorded in 2015. Similarly, the average basket value – the amount spent on any one purchase – reached £78, the only month since January not to record a decrease on the same period in 2014.

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The clothing sector continued its positive run in July, with sales increasing by 14% compared to the previous year, marking a second consecutive month of double-digit growth for the sector.

IMRG chief information officer Tina Spooner said: “During the early part of the year we saw fairly unpredictable growth rates in e-retail, but higher conversion rates and lower average basket values have been consistent trends.

“However, while the percentage of online browsers converting to shoppers hit a high for the year in July, the average basket value remained unchanged from July 2014 – this follows five consecutive months of annual decline in average basket values. With the slow start to the year, it may be that retailers felt pressured into longer and deeper sales campaigns to stimulate activity, and that we are now in a summer season where shopping has ‘normalised’ to an extent before we enter the festive trading period.”

Capgemini head of digital, consumer products and retail Alex Smith Bingham commented: “The continued solid performance of the Index will be reassuring to the UK’s retailers, and is a clear reflection of the ongoing consumer confidence in the health of the economy. The decline in big-ticket items from the electrical sector will continue to leave its mark, but with the new iPhone 6S anticipated to launch in September, we could see a very significant boost before the end of the year.”